Remember when blogs first blew up and everyone and their mom had one? Some of those glorified online journals are still going strong today, evolving into lifestyle blogs with a following beyond immediate family members. But the difference between lifestyle and/or personal blogs and business blogs is, well, have you been to the Grand Canyon? It’s steep, that’s what I’m saying. So before you hire a content write or blogger for your business, take two minutes and keep reading.

writers aren’t all equal

It seems a little counterintuitive, but your stylist’s amazing lifestyle blog doesn’t mean she’d be able to write effectively on yours. Business blogging is a different animal entirely, with best practices for literally every element in a given post. These are included but not limited to:

  • Assuming that writing something awesome is enough in and of itself, and failing to strategize effectively for getting that content in front of the right eyeballs.
  • Completely missing the point of your business blog and using it as a forum for personal thoughts and feelings, instead of a vehicle for serving up hot, delicious relevance to prospective clients and customers.
  • Failing to format well, to write catchy headlines, or to deliver on the inherent promise in that headline.
  • Underestimating the time commitment of consistent blogging.

And the list goes on. There are keywords to consider (in multiple places including the URL, page title, subheads, body copy, even image alt text and meta descriptions), a schedule to maintain, an appropriate post length to hit, even best days and times to publish your content. When your job is writing professionally for someone else, you factor for all of these things. When you’re a lifestyle blogger or someone journaling online, you don’t. And why would you? You’re doing it for personal reasons, and the lack of a schedule, keywords list or collection of working topics is just a benefit.

and another thing

Assuming that someone with their own personal blog can effectively manage your business blog generates the same issue as the content marketplace. It devalues content.  When you blog for someone without any real idea of what you’re doing, nothing productive happens. And no business owner with any sense is going to keep throwing money at something that isn’t improving the bottom line. A bad experience like that tends to sour people on the idea of a business blog, and that’s a shame. When you’re doing it right, business blogging is wildly effective.

so remember this

Literally anyone with computer access and an internet connection can set up a blog, publish a post, and call themselves a blogger. If you’re a business owner on the hunt for someone to bring your blog or site up to snuff, consider that fair warning. Save yourself the money, headache and time, and do it right from the get-go. Ask for referrals and proof that whomever you’re considering knows what they’re doing.